Uzbek Gas Output Slumps 17% in H1
Uzbekistan's gas production fell 17.1% year on year in the first half of 2020, landing at 25.15bn m3, state statistics published on July 20 show.
The Central Asian country uses most of its gas domestically, but it also exports some to China and Russia. Authorities and state-owned oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) have confirmed that supplies were affected by coronavirus-related lockdowns, both at home and abroad.
Russia's Lukoil, the country's second-biggest producer after UNG, blamed restrictions put in place in China for a 18% decline in its international sales in the first quarter. The company delivers gas to China from Uzbekistan's Southwest Gissar and Kandym gas projects.
Uzbekistan's government previously forecast that national production would rise 8.8% in 2020, to 63.8bn m3.
Uzbek gas condensate supply fell 43% yr/yr to 730,100 metric tonnes in the first half, according to state statistics, while its oil production grew 3% to 347,300 mt.